Nick's studio work includes sessions for Billy Bragg, Mike Batt and London Media Ensemble.

Nick Allen enjoys a varied career as a cellist. As a chamber musician he is much in demand and was a founder member of the Solaris Quartet with whom he enjoyed a busy schedule performing throughout the country. Nick has recently joined the Bergersen Quartet to pursue his interest in contemporary music. With the Bergersens he has collaborated with Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) on the UK leg of her tour, and also the Hyperion International Ensemble. The quartet will shortly be recording with Clement Marfo and the Frontline and will be recording Lift! - The Musical by Craig Adams. On the international stage, Nick has performed duo concerts in Salzburg and recently performed at Le Poisson Rouge jazz club in New York.

He is currently involved in recording and performing Bach 2 the Future, a solo cello project involving the works of Bach and new commissions for cello and electronics. He collaborated with singer Karen Grace on her album Metamorphosis (www.karen-grace.com), and has worked with Billy Bragg and Mike Batt. He will shortly be playing with West End star Kerry Ellis. On film, Nick can be heard on the soundtrack to British Film Council Digital Shorts sponsored short film Bro and recently BBC4's documentary Sandhurst.

Nick freelances as an orchestral player regularly playing with Welsh Chamber Orchestra, Opera UK, and Carl Rosa Opera Company. He performed in Birmingham Opera Company's production of Otello and toured Unexpected Opera's chamber production of Orpheus Down Under. Nick also works for Merry Opera Company for which he has performed in chamber versions of La Belle Helene and La Traviata. For both operas he also provided the arrangements. He performed in the arena tour of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds and also works regularly with Matthew Slater creating and performing chill out dance tracks.

As an educationalist, Nick was recently Acting Head of Strings at the London College of Music and also works for Newham Music Trust teaching in East End schools. He is a regular tutor for Musicale Holidays and is a founder tutor of Shipley Arts Festival String Academy. He has also created Strings n Things - a primary schools concert that investigates the possibilities of using ICT with music. Nick has just been commissioned to write a children's musical about the Amazon Rainforest.

When Nick has spare time (!), he enjoys walking up mountains - he has climbed Kilimanjaro and is planning on climbing Mont Blanc this summer.

Nicholas Allen (Cello) Profile

Education/Outreach experience

As part of Yehudi Menuhin's Live Music Now! scheme Solaris has brought classical music to a wider audience, playing in venues from schools to prisons and hospitals. These concerts feature a wide range of styles, from Classical music (Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn), through Romantic and Modern works to folk and jazz inspired arrangements. Audience participation is strongly encouraged, with singing, clapping, playing instruments and dancing being common features in the group's performances.

The quartet is happy to tailor workshops to fulfil individual requirements.